Okay so this one was a LOT better than the last two! The writing is so much better and the story was fast-paced without being ridiculous. I loved theOkay so this one was a LOT better than the last two! The writing is so much better and the story was fast-paced without being ridiculous. I loved the introduction of "NRR" and the gold visa card, so at last they HAVE unlimited money and we don't have to just ignore the fact that they're two not very rich kids flying all over the world ;) I loved the Russian setting as well, and I'm kind of getting a Thing for Irina Spasky. I also loved Nataliya, aka NRR.

The whole "omg everyone famous in the world ever was a relative from some branch or other" thing I'm REALLY, REALLY over. I'm not so keen on fucking around with history and using real historical figures in fiction, that kind of irks me most of the time unless it's done really well and/or very loosely.

I kind of have to get all science nerdy now. Nataliya mentions that she - SHE - has haemophilia, like her mother's brother. (Her mother was of course Anastasia, as in THE Anastasia. Yes really.) Now okay it's not impossible that she had haemophilia, but it's an X-linked recessive disorder which means that female haemophiliacs are incredibly rare, and it also means that her father would have had to be a haemophiliac himself, which Nataliya doesn't mention. I know it's not impossible that she was, but to me it felt like the author was all, ooh her uncle had an exotic disease, let's say that she does as well! Without giving thought to how slim the odds of her having it really would have been. I guess I would have just liked a line of acknowledgement that her father was also a sufferer or something, to make it more plausible :P (Do you get the feeling that maybe I'm not exactly the target audience for this book?!)...more

OMG that was just so freaking cool! :D My last book for 2011, which I couldn't finish because it's kind of enormous, and so my first for 2012 as well.OMG that was just so freaking cool! :D My last book for 2011, which I couldn't finish because it's kind of enormous, and so my first for 2012 as well. A nice end AND start to the years :D And I was hooked in straight away, there was no gradual warming up - I loved it from the start. The writing is just so delicious, and the tale itself so rich and wonderful... the perfect mix of fairy-tale fantasy and darkness. I LOVED the language geekery so much as well, that was utter brilliance. And the snappy banter between Bear and Baba Yaga often made me laugh out loud... such enjoyable villains! Although you really can't help but like Bear, he's just been suckered into one of her spells.

Baba Yaga is bloody terrifying. But so awesome. Dude, she HIJACKED A PLANE AND FLEW IT BACK TO THE NINTH CENTURY. I mean, who even DOES that?! And Katerina freaking rocked as well. She was so much better than Ruth... there was just no contest. You can't even really feel sorry for Ruth, losing Ivan so abruptly. She's got nothing on Katerina. I adored her - she's a princess, the sleeping beauty whom Ivan awakens... but she's not a simpering, fragile little thing. Oh hell no! She's feisty and strong and stubborn and a little bit snarky and arrogant. So much fun :D I loved the romance between her and Ivan. You know it's going to happen eventually, but it's all done so nicely and at such a gentle pace that it doesn't feel forced or sudden or anything. Just natural.

I loved both times in this book equally - Katerina in the 20th century, Ivan in the 9th. Usually I much favour one over the other, but these were both done so brilliantly. The gorgeous historicalness of the 9th and the language geekery, contrasted so nicely to that fun culture-clash which happens when someone is shifted forward in time. And it was fun to have all of the recent day Russian politics in the background as well, an interesting touch.

Uncle Marek's true identity came as a huge surprise. I love how everything wove together like that. :) I loved how Ivan managed to beat Bear to get to the princess. I loved the humour that was always there. I loved the author snarking about JFK airport twice within the space of like five pages:

"...and the six-mile walk down tubes and ramps before they got to the airplanes, which apparently parked in Sag Harbour."

"Some of the same clerks were on duty, watching Ivan and Katerina very carefully, but treating them with more politeness than usual, which, at Kennedy, isn't a hard standard to surpass."

LOL BURN.

Totally can't fault this in any way... only that it had to finish at all :)...more

A fictionalised diary of Anastasia, from ages 11 to 17. Fascinating stuff. Started off a little slow and read very young but to be fair, the author waA fictionalised diary of Anastasia, from ages 11 to 17. Fascinating stuff. Started off a little slow and read very young but to be fair, the author was writing as a very young girl at the start! It definitely got more interesting as the political situation in Russia started swiftly chaning. ...more

A fascinating and amazing true story that was an "impulse mooch". So incredibly worth it! The setting is just so bleak it's amazing to think this is aA fascinating and amazing true story that was an "impulse mooch". So incredibly worth it! The setting is just so bleak it's amazing to think this is a true story. Wow....more

What a wonderful book! It started a little slow but I was soon into it and could barely stand to put it down. I love the way everything was woven togeWhat a wonderful book! It started a little slow but I was soon into it and could barely stand to put it down. I love the way everything was woven together so cleverly. :D...more

Not the sort of book I ever thought I'd enjoy, but Beth bought it and said I should read it, so I shrugged and began... and then was hooked! AbsolutelNot the sort of book I ever thought I'd enjoy, but Beth bought it and said I should read it, so I shrugged and began... and then was hooked! Absolutely fascinating stuff indeed, in the end I loved it....more

Absolutely incredible book, part historical/political novel of Russia during WWI and the revolution, but then part fairy tale as well. I love Marcus SAbsolutely incredible book, part historical/political novel of Russia during WWI and the revolution, but then part fairy tale as well. I love Marcus Sedgwick's books but for some reason I left this one on the shelf for so long before reading it - no idea why! It was every bit as wonderful as the others, in some cases even more so....more